Michael Clarke
Australia scored a pretty looking 303 for 3 on Day 1 of the Third Ashes Test (Scorecard) at Old Trafford in Manchester. Skipper Michael Clarke (Player Page) finally got amongst the runs and as a result the Aussies looked real competitive to keep their hopes alive in the series. The 32-year-old Clarke scored his 24th Test century an the best part is that he is still batting.
The visitors made best use of the conditions having won the toss and electing to bat first. A solid start of 76 from Shane Watson and Chris Rogers saw off the threat from the new ball. Watson scored only 19 though before edging Bresnan to Cook. The next wicket to fall was that of Usman Khawaja, who was wrongly given caught behind off Swann. Umpire Tony Hill gave it out wrongly and Khawaja took the Review but only to be disappointed by the Third Umpire Kumar Dharmasena who couldn’t get enough evidence to prove his colleague wrong.
Australia lost their third wicket in the form of Chris Rogers, who strokes his way to 84 (from 114 balls with 14 fours) before he was lbw playing across a full ball from Swann. England were on top with Australia at 129 for 3 in 37 overs. However, the rest of the day saw Michael Clarke (125* from 208 balls with 17 fours) forge a superb partnership with Steven Smith (70* from 150 balls with 7 fours). Australia need either a draw or a victory in this Test to stop England from sealing the 5-match Ashes Series 3-0.
